Lesson 1: The 27-Year Ghost
A 50-person firm. Seven partners. A global network. Their Google profile: 1 review, 0 photos, no description. How a firm this established became invisible — and the exact cost.
Free Google Business Profile Masterclass for Accounting and Bookkeeping Firms
Based on 300+ real GBP audits. 23 lessons. Specific patterns. Exact fixes. A free Google Business Profile masterclass for accounting and bookkeeping firms — built from real audit findings, not generic advice.
I've spent the last month doing something nobody asked me to do.
I audited over 300 accounting and bookkeeping firms across the UK. Market towns. City centres. Multi-office practices. Franchise networks. Sole practitioners working from home. Firms with century-long histories and firms that opened last year.
Most had the same problems. Unclaimed profiles. Unanswered reviews. Invisible credentials. Legacy ghost profiles from mergers nobody told Google about. One competitor eating everyone's lunch while established firms with decades of experience sat completely invisible.
What I found is not available anywhere else. Not because it's secret. Because nobody else has done the work.
This Masterclass is everything I learned. Each lesson is built from real audits — firms I've actually looked at, patterns I've actually measured, fixes I've actually verified. No theory. No generic advice lifted from Google's help pages. Just the specific, practical things accounting firms need to do to make their Google presence match their actual reputation.
No signup. No email capture. No pitch. Work through the lessons in order, or jump to the topic that matters most to your firm.
The bar is low. Most of your competitors haven't done any of this. The firms that win on Google aren't the best accountants — they're the ones who showed up.
📺 Prefer to watch?
This Masterclass is also available as a free video series on YouTube. New case studies and tutorials drop every Monday.
Latest videos: Lesson 1 — The 27-Year Ghost (8 min) | Lesson 2 — The Report Card | Lesson 3 — £5K Website vs £0 Profile | Lesson 4 — 22 Reviews. 7 Years. Zero Replies. | Lesson 20 — Google's AI Agent | Lesson 21 — Update Your GBP for AI | Lesson 23 — The Attention Gap
23 Lessons — Work Through Them in Order
Each lesson is built from real audits. Click any lesson to read the full breakdown.
Lesson 2: GBP + Analytics
Google Connected GBP to Analytics. Most firms don't know this happened. Empty profiles are about to be exposed. How to prepare before the dashboard goes live.
Lesson 3: £5K Website vs £0 GBP
You spent £5,000 on your website and £0 on your GBP. Google shows your profile 5x more. The math doesn't add up — and I can prove it.
Lesson 4: 22 Reviews. 7 Years. Zero Replies.
22 five-star reviews. 7 years of testimonials. The profile was unclaimed — the firm couldn't say thank you. What silence costs — and the fix.
Lesson 5: 35 UK Accounting Franchises
Same brand. Same website. Same marketing from head office. Every single profile had the same gaps. The systemic accountability failure — and the fix.
Lesson 6: Google's Official Playbook
Google published a free playbook. I've audited 300 firms. Almost none have implemented the basics. The gap, quantified. The fix, in 2 hours.
Lesson 7: What the Best Firms Do Differently
After 300 audits, a handful of firms are exceptional. Complete, active, visibly trusted. Exactly what they do — and how to replicate it.
Lesson 8: Mergers & Ghost Profiles
4 mergers. 4 ghost profiles. Different names. Different reviews. No connection to the new brand. The exact 5-step fix for any firm that's acquired or merged.
Lesson 9: The 2026 Algorithm & Compliance
The 7 problems accounting firms must fix now. FTC penalties up to $51,744 per violation. Google Trends data from 4 countries.
Lesson 10: The Market Town Pattern
11 firms in one town. One dominates with 33 reviews at 4.9. Ten are invisible. Firm-by-firm breakdown, quantified pattern analysis, 6-step fix.
Lesson 11: Claim & Verify Your GBP
The definitive step-by-step guide. All 5 verification methods. Exact timelines. What to do if someone else already claimed your profile.
Lesson 12: Guide to Google Reviews
How to ask without violating policies. Templates. Handling negatives. Why review velocity matters more than total count. 30-minute audit checklist.
Lesson 13: What to Do After Verification
Don't touch anything for 72 hours. The exact day-by-day sequence for safely building out a newly verified profile.
Lesson 14: When Your Merger Never Happened on Google
Six practices merged into one brand. Three predecessor firms still live on Google. What prospects see, what it costs, step-by-step fix.
Lesson 15: Same Brand. Different Google Presence.
Financial Planning arm: 4.4 stars. Accounting arm: zero reviews, missing offices. The multi-entity gap — how it happens and how to fix it.
Lesson 16: The Rebrand That Never Reached Google
Months on a rebrand. New logo. New website. Google still shows the old name. Four real patterns. 7-step rebrand audit.
Lesson 17: What Happens After GBP Optimization
You fixed everything. Then you stopped. What decays first, in what order, and what it costs to start over. GBP is a practice, not a project.
Lesson 18: The 7 Mistakes Every Firm Makes
The definitive summary. Prevalence data. Exact cost of each mistake. Links to the detailed fix. Start here if you don't know where to start.
Lesson 19: Guide to Google Posts
4 types that actually get read. Real examples you can adapt. A simple weekly rhythm that puts you ahead of 95% of competitors.
Lesson 20: Google's AI Agent in GBP Messaging
Google accidentally revealed an AI agent inside GBP messaging. What appeared, what experts warned, and the 9-step preparation checklist.
Lesson 21: Update Your GBP for AI
Gemini is connected to GBP. Your profile now powers AI responses. Step-by-step guide to updating every field. 10-point self-audit checklist.
Lesson 22: Gemini Can Manage Your GBP
Gemini can update hours, draft replies, analyze feedback, create posts. But not in the UK yet. 7 things to fix before the rollout.
Lesson 23: The Attention Gap
1 in 3 multi-office firms has one perfect GBP and three ghost towns. Three anonymized case studies. The 5-step fix that costs nothing.
Upcoming Lessons
I'm adding new lessons as I publish the audits. Here's what's in progress.
Lesson 24: GBP Photos Guide
What to upload. Exact dimensions. Why photos get you 42% more direction requests. The photo audit checklist. Coming soon.
Lesson 25: Categories & Services
Primary vs secondary. How the wrong category makes you invisible. Why "Accountant" vs "Bookkeeping Service" changes everything. Coming soon.
Lesson 26: How to Read GBP Insights
Which numbers actually matter. How to turn Insights into a monthly report you'll actually use. Coming soon.
Lesson 27: NAP Consistency
Why Name, Address, Phone must match everywhere. How to audit yours in 30 minutes. Coming soon.
Lesson 28: Q&A — Most Overlooked Feature
How prospects use it. How competitors can abuse it. How to seed it with real client questions. Coming soon.
Lesson 29: The Competitive Audit
How to find your real local competitors on Google. How to spot the gaps they've left open. Coming soon.
Ready for a personal audit?
I'll personally review your Google Business Profile and show you exactly what's missing. No cost. No pitch. No obligation.